If raising capital is not an easy task in the U.S., where thousands of startups get funded every year, in Mexico the path to getting funded is often a true endurance test for any entrepreneur. (See some interesting stats about the current investment landscape in Mexico here.)

That’s why we’re thrilled about CROWDFUNDxMexicoCity — our first international CROWDFUNDx Contest + Pitch Event that is accelerating investment for top startups in Mexico. The contest was launched in partnership with Crowdfunder México (our subsidiary), Jóvenes COPARMEX, and Emproyecto México. It also received the support of Endeavor, 500 Startups, NAFIN and the Entrepreneur’s Institute.

We love crowds. We love them online. We love ‘em offline. The one gathered at the Plaza Hotel & Casino in historic Downtown Vegas last week was nothing short of fantastic!

The crowd at CROWDSTART Las Vegas

CROWDSTART Las Vegas

Hundreds of enthusiastic self-made entrepreneurs, fans, investors and business leaders packed into an overflowing room to hear 10 fledgling companies put it all on the line at the Crowdstart Las Vegas Finals.

Today, it’s our pleasure to announce the 10 companies hand-picked by Vegas Tech who will go on to the CROWDSTART Las Vegas Finals on September 14.

These ten finalists will put it all on the line with hundreds of fans, successful entrepreneurs, seasoned investors and other savvy, self-made startup founders as they vie for the coveted CROWDSTART Las Vegas title and a shot at landing an investment by Vegas Tech Fund of up to $500,000. Continue reading…

SEC paves way for GATE Global Impact’s and Crowdfunder’s crowdfunding by relaxing general solicitation rule for accredited investors

NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — In response to today’s ruling by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to relax general solicitation for accredited investors under the Sunshine Act, GATE Global Impact has announced a strategic alliance with online platform Crowdfunder to open securities-based crowdfunding between qualified U.S. business owners and accredited investors. The alliance makes investor protection paramount by utilizing the regulatory framework of GATE’s broker dealer division – GATE US, Member FINRA, SIPC – to oversee and facilitate all securities-based transactions across Crowdfunder’s community of 9,000 investors and entrepreneurs and 1,100 registered companies. Continue reading…

Right now startups are receiving funding on Crowdfunder by winning the votes and support of the crowd. You can participate and help choose the startups that get funded, or be one of the startups that could win funding, by being on Crowdfunder today.

CROWDSTART LA, the first crowdsourced startup contest, just finished off with a successful live pitch event where one of the ten finalists – Divshot, a former Startup Weekend born startup – took home a $25,000 investment prize.

Up next, Crowdfunder has partnered with the Vegas Tech Fund to bring CROWDSTART LV – a startup contest just like CROWDSTART LA, where startups create profiles on Crowdfunder and attract supporters/votes to compete for a chance at pitching VCs and Angels at a live pitch event. The Vegas Tech Fund is putting a $500,000 investment opportunity for the winner of the contest. Read more here. Continue reading…

WHILE THE WORLD WAITS FOR THE JOBS ACT TO TAKE EFFECT … CROWDFUNDER, STARTUP WEEKEND AND VEGAS TECH FUND TEAM UP TO EDUCATE ENTREPRENEURS AND BRING STARTUP COMPETITIONS ONLINE WITH $500,000 INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY

July 3, 2012 – Los Angeles, CA – Crowdfunder has something big brewing with its Vegas Contest. The collaborative funding platform is teaming up with Vegas Tech Fund to put a $500,000 investment opportunity in the hands of an entrepreneur at Las Vegas Startup Weekend, July 13-15.
Investors are galvanizing around Las Vegas as a hotbed for fostering entrepreneurship and community, putting their money where there mouths are with $100M combined investment between Downtown Project + Vegas Tech Fund. Continue reading…

10 Startups from Crowdfunder To Pitch The LA Startup Community & Compete For $25,000 in Funding

On May 22nd we opened up Crowdfunder to the public and launched the first crowdsourced startup contest, CROWDSTART LA.

Just a few weeks after launching, over 600 companies have signed up to compete by creating a Company Profile on crowdfunder. The crowd has spoken and selected the startup finalists who will compete in the live pitch event portion of the contest.

Today it’s our pleasure to announce the 10 top companies who will be presenting on July 10th to the community. 5 of these companies received the most votes from the crowd, while the other 5 are the Judge selections.